FLIGHT International, 4 December (969 863
fitting of an RB.211 pod identical to that of the TriStar to
the A-300B. (See also the General Electric statement, reported
on page 858).
M Ziegler said he thought that competition from the BAC
Three-Eleven could only be beneficial—there was always room
for a good aircraft. He felt, however, that in view of the fact
that A-300B drawings had been completed and that tooling
had commenced, the Airbus possessed a lead of 18 months to
two years over the Three-Eleven.
From other sources it is learned that authorisation for series
production must be given no later than spring 1971. At the
time of certification (planned for late 1973) the eighth aircraft
should be nearing completion. Development costs covering
the construction of four prototypes, two test specimens and
flight testing up to certification was thought to be £170 million
nearly a year ago. No revised estimates have been released.
This figure allows for possible structural changes in production
aircraft and assumes that revenue will be received for the sale
of three of the four prototypes. One difficulty which remains
to be resolved is that, while the French Government has
agreed to supply all of the 47 per cent Slid share, the German
Government is only contributing 90 per cent of the similar
German commitment, leaving industry to find the remainder.
This risk could in fact be nearer 20 per cent because of the
high proportion of sub-contract work on the German side
of the programme which will take place outside the country
but be financed from Germany.
The governmental steering committee has insisted that Airbus
Industrie must first be formed as a full liability company
responsible for the A-300B programme. Meanwhile, Service
Technique de I'Aeronautique (STAe)—a French Government
department—is responsible for project management and is
acting on behalf of the steering committee.
ENGINE DISINTEGRATES
BOAC Super VCIO G-AFGK suffered a major mechanical
failure on November 27 which resulted in low-pressure turbine
blades being shed from number three (starboard inner) Conway.
The aircraft was at about 6,500ft over Reading at about 1115hr
when a loud bang was heard in the aircraft and on the ground.
Debris from number three engine apparently penetrated number
four, causing it to catch fire. The fire-warning light of this
engine came on. followed by indications that number three was
running down. The fire was quickly extinguished by the auto
matic system. Resulting from the failure, the l.p. turbine and
thrust reverser assemblies separated from the aircraft, but
caused no damage on hitting the ground.
The Super VC10 returned to Heathrow and landed at 170kt
at a weight of about 327,0001b—some 90,0001b over the design
limit landing weight. The aircraft had a full fuel load for the
London to New York sector, and there was insufficient time
to jettison any of it. The undercarriage was lowered manually.
Two tyres deflated on landing—the fusible plugs blew—but
there were no injuries among the 58 passengers and 1 I crew.
The VC10 had flown 6,527hr in service and number three
engine was fitted on July I. The two engines are being removed
and will go to the BOAC overhaul centre at Treforest for
inspection.
British airworthiness requirements stipulate that any single
failed compressor or turbine blade must be contained within
the engine casing. Multiple blade failures or turbine-disc dis
integrations are not required to be contained. The probability
of such failures is considered remote and the weight penalty of
catering for them unacceptable.
THE BUS STOPS
ANOTHER British domestic service died last week. Channel
Airways shut up shop on its "Scottish Flyer" service, the
"'bus-stop" route running the length of Britain from Southend
to Aberdeen, with seven intermediate stops and a connecting
branch to one more. It had been running only ten months,
and last week the airline blamed the closure on increasing
losses running now at £160,000 a year. The company gave
only six days' notice of the suspension.
The type of aircraft used was the Viscount 812 in 69-seat
configuration, and the frequency—two services a day in each
direction—represented employment for two aircraft. A possible
reason for poor results may be that the Viscount is too big for
the job. Traffic was meagre on the sectors at either end of the
route but, on the other hand, the middle sectors attracted
worthwhile loads—frequently more than 50 passengers.
Another problem of the service was the prospect of increased
landing fees at some airports along the route. Channel Airways
had managed to negotiate a special charge of 2s 6d per
passenger in place of the normal landing fee, in view of
the special nature of the service. The airline appears to have
rejected the idea of applying for a fare increase to alleviate
its problem; the management apparently considered that there
would be no net gain, especially in view of strong competition
from British Rail on this particular route.
Two features of the Scottish Flyer service will, one hopes,
be perpetuated on other domestic services. One is the provision
of a large baggage compartment in the cabin, in which boarding
passengers can deposit their cases. The other—stemming no
doubt in part from the first—is the scheduled turn-round time
of 4-5min at intermediate stops.
Halaby to head Pan American Mr
Najeeb E. H a 1 a b y has been
appointed chief executive officer of
Pan American, in addition to the
post he already holds as the airline's
chairman (as briefly reported in
Flight last week). He succeeds Mr
Harold E. Gray, who will continue
to serve as chairman of the board.
Mr Halaby, 53, is a former Admin
istrator of the Federal Aviation
Agency; he is also a lawyer and
sometime test pilot. Recently Mr
Halaby flew the Boeing 747.
DC-9s for Southern The American regional carrier Southern
Airways has leased two DC-9-30s for 12 years from the CIT
Leasing Corporation.
Another Alaskan Hercules A sixth Lockheed L-100-20 has
been delivered to Interior Airways, one of the air-cargo opera
tors flying heavy drilling and support equipment to the oilfields
on the Alaskan North Slope. Interior Airways, which is based
at Fairbanks, now has the largest commercial Hercules fleet.
The rear face of the h.p. turbine of No 3 engine is visible in this
view of the BOAC Super VCIO which returned safely to Heathrow on
November 27 after suffering engine failure and fire (see story this page)